Chapter 6

Zach loudly told his mother, “Mom, Ruby is pregnant. You’re finally going to have a grandchild.”

I thought that after longing for a grandchild for so many years, Mrs. Quinn would be overjoyed by the news. Instead, her voice shot up an octave as she bellowed, “Bullshit! She lost her uterus when she was a child. What pregnancy are you talking about?”

I could not help but freeze in shock. The whole thing felt absurd and ridiculous. However, none of it had anything to do with me anymore.

Realizing the call was still connected, Mrs. Quinn hurriedly shouted into the phone, “Coco, don’t go! I’m going to get justice for you right now! Scamming my son into marriage? She’s just as shameless as her mother!”

The flight attendant announced that the plane was about to take off, so I hung up and switched off my phone. Just before the line went dead, I thought I heard Zach ask in a trembling voice, “Mom, is that true?”

However, I had no interest in the truth anymore. Whether Ruby was really pregnant or whose child it was no longer mattered to me.

I closed my eyes and began planning my future. I had given up my own dreams to help Zach build his business.

Now, I had money of my own, and I was no longer naïve enough to revolve my entire life around a man. For the first time in years, I had both the means and the freedom to start over.

When the plane landed and I turned my phone back on, I was greeted by countless missed calls and messages. Only then did I remember that I had forgotten to block Zach’s secondary number.

I ignored every message he sent and blocked that number too.

After taking out the trash, so to speak, I received a call from my mother. The moment I answered, her anxious voice came through.

“Coco! You finally picked up! You need to come back and marry Zach right now! He knows now that he was deceived by that woman, and he’s consumed with guilt over what he did to you!

“You need to come back while he's feeling the most guilty. Make sure you hold on to him this time!”

I laughed and declined.

My mother was so angry that her voice shook. “You foolish girl! Didn't you wait eight years for this day? After this fake-pregnancy marriage scam, Zach will spend the rest of his life making it up to you. He’ll treat you like a queen!

“If you keep playing hard to get and refuse to come back, where is he supposed to put his pride? By the time you change your mind, it’ll be too late!”

I knew she meant well. She knew how much I used to love Zach, and she believed I was only leaving in anger, that I would never truly walk away from him.

Still, I was not her. I could not forgive a man who had betrayed me, no matter how remorseful he was now. I was not one of those women from another era whose entire life depended on a man.

I said, “Mom, it’s over between us. Whoever he wants to marry is his choice.”

On the other end of the line, she groaned in frustration. “Oh, my stubborn daughter! What is it that you just can’t let go of? Men make mistakes. That’s normal. What matters is that he knows he was wrong and comes back. That means he still loves you! Are you really going to let someone else enjoy your man?"

My mother argued until she was practically out of breath, but I remained unmoved. “Mom, I have things to do. I’ll call you later.”

I understood that she was not ready to accept the fact that she would no longer have a wealthy son-in-law. Once I proved that I could build a successful life on my own, she would stop believing my future had to be tied to a man.

A moment later, she sent me a link. I opened it, and to my surprise, it was a video from today’s wedding. The very first clip was the moment Mrs. Quinn exposed the truth.

“Bullshit! She lost her uterus when she was a child. What pregnancy are you talking about?”